The Truth
by bleachedinubasket
Summary: Rukia and Orihime switch bodies! Who could have thought that taking a piece of candy from the kind Kisuke Urahara could have such disastrous effects? And will Ichigo recognize the difference? IR COMPLETE.
1. Day One

**The Truth **

**Chapter One: The Mishap**

**Summary:** Rukia and Orihime switch bodies! Who could have thought that taking a piece of candy from kind Kisuke Urahara could have such disastrous effects? IR & IO

**Character focus: Rukia K. and Orihime I. towards Ichigo K.**

* * *

It was a gorgeous morning. There was not a cloud in the sky; a soft breeze was blowing by, cooling people consistently under the hot sun that was high in the sky. However, Ichigo and his friends were not outdoors at all. In fact, they were underground, with a fake blue sky and clouds painted on the cavern ceilings. They were training.

"Damn it Ichigo!" Renji exclaimed, wiping the sweat away from his forehead. Ichigo panted with a smirk.

"What? Frustrated that you can't beat me?" Renji glared at this remark, and whipped his sword at the annoying orange-haired teen once more.

"Of course not! Just stop running around!"

"Renji, what do you expect? Speed is his forte," Rukia laughed, as she happily sparred with Tatsuki in hand-to-hand combat.

"Hard to believe that the crying Ichigo I knew is now some power monster," Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

"You shut up!" Ichigo yelled, pointing his sword at Tatsuki. Renji took this opportunity to punch Ichigo across the face. The teen fell to the ground in surprise.

"You never point your swords at women!" Renji said, smirking confidently.

"Tatsuki is not a woman, and please you're only saying that because she's your girlfriend," Ichigo said, dusting himself off as he stood up.

As rowdy as this training session was, it was still serious. Ichigo practiced his newly learned attacks from the winter war. Though there seemed to be no war in sight, the teens were always practicing; it always warmed Urahara's heart.

"Well, that's it for today, you all need to rest," the ex-captain called out.

The teens bowed in gratitude for letting them use his massive training cavern. As they left the doors of the dusty shop, Urahara held Rukia and Orihime back.

"What is it?" Rukia asked, her usual fierce air around her.

"Now, now, I just wanted to offer you girls some candy, you worked very hard today." Urahara said as pulled out a bunny shaped sweet. Rukia gleamed.

"Thanks! Have some Inoue," she smiled as she plopped the sweet into her mouth.

"Ah… it's really okay?" Orihime asked, as she took the pink sweet from his hand.

"Of course, I wouldn't offer it to you if it wasn't okay right?" Urahara smiled, "Go on, I'll see you a few days from now… for training of course."

They nodded and ran off to catch up with their friends.

* * *

The next day was just as beautiful as the previous. Sun shining, birds singing and everything! That was until Orihime's scream rang through the sleepy air of Karakura town.

"What! What am I doing in this body?" Rukia exclaimed, glaring at the mirror. Unfamiliar grey eyes met her, she was frazzled, how did she get into Orihime's body? This had to be a dream… a really really weird dream. She slapped herself, she splashed her face with water, and she even told herself to wake up. Nothing. It wasn't a dream, this was reality.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, looking at her hands. She felt Orihime's soft skin against her fingers, looked at her large melons as if they were a curse. "How does she manage to wear clothes with these things?" She muttered to herself. She looked at her feet, well… after several attempts. "I'm so tall now."

Rukia sighed, well; she might as well go to school. As she looked through Orihime's closet, she found her uniform neatly hung and pressed. She put it on, while closing her eyes; she didn't want to see Orihime's body without her consent.

Suddenly it hit her. She looked at the mirror, if she was in Orihime's body… where was Orihime?

* * *

Rukia's eyes fluttered open; she sat up with a long yawn and suddenly paused. She looked around, her eyes wide in shock and realization. She wasn't at home! Orihime's mind was blank, not knowing what to do. She recognized the sleeping figures around her. Karin, Ichigo's little sister was sleeping in her bed, and Yuzu beside her.

"What am I doing here?" She whispered to herself, she suddenly realized how small she was in her blankets. "What?" She gasped.

Her chest was gone! Her hair was black! She quickly got up, and tiptoed out the door. She ran into… Ichigo.

Ichigo looked down at Orihime, "Oh morning Rukia, why the rush?"

He was topless. That was all that ran through Orihime's mind, her prince, topless.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked. Right! She was in Kuchiki-san's body.

"Uh, nothing's wrong," Orihime said as 'Rukia' as she possibly could.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit off midget," Ichigo said, looking into her eyes. Orihime shook her head quickly while blocking her face and blushing.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong Kurosaki-kun!" She exclaimed, and suddenly realized what she said, she covered her mouth… or Rukia's mouth… whatever.

Ichigo's worried face changed into an annoyed one, "Jeeze I was just asking you what was wrong and you pull your fake high voice thing on me." He scratched the back of his head. "Anyway hurry up and change." Ichigo walked away, glaring at her.

_What did I do?_ Orihime thought frantically, should she apologize? She turned to say something, but Ichigo had already closed the door behind him. Orihime figured that it was the washroom. She made her way down the hall and saw a familiar door, the 15 screaming out at her. It was Ichigo's room.

She walked in cautiously, looking around. It wasn't the first time she was in his room, it was the second time, this time though she was in Rukia's body and Ichigo wasn't unconscious. She looked around, and then opened his closet; there she saw a neatly folded pile of uniform.

"I'm guessing that this is Kuchiki-san's uniform," she muttered to herself. She picked it up. "It's so small." She smiled, thinking it was cute.

She closed her eyes while putting the clothes on. She didn't want to see Rukia's body without her permission.

"If I'm in Kuchiki-san's body… is Kuchiki-san in mine?" She thought to herself, suddenly she blushed wildly. "Ah but the house is a mess! What if she-"

The door opened.

"Are you done changing?" Ichigo asked, walking in with his eyes closed. Orihime turned and saw him in his towel. She flushed bright red.

"Ah, yes?" Orihime replied. Ichigo opened his eyes with a smirk.

"Well, either turn around or get out, you know routine," Ichigo said. He turned to look at Rukia, and blushed slightly. "Why are you red?"

Orihime cursed to herself silently, and shook her head, "Nothing Kurosaki-kun- Ah! I mean-"

"Tch, whatever, just get out midget," he said. Orihime left the room, still red, and embarrassed, not knowing what to do about the current situation.

"I should go talk to Kuchiki-san… probably at school…" Orihime said.

Ichigo's door opened, and he looked at her in surprise.

"What are you doing still waiting here?" He asked, looking her in the eyes, something Orihime wasn't used to.

"Ah… I don't know where my bag is," Orihime answered.

"Oh yeah, I brought it out with me, you left it in the room last night," Ichigo said, "K, we should go now."

_I'm walking to school with Kurosaki-kun…_Orihime thought, her heart pounding.

As she followed him down the stairs, she saw him suddenly get attacked by his father.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She exclaimed.

"You asshole!" Ichigo yelled, his dad who was laughing.

"You were off guard son! Some shinigami!" Isshin exclaimed. "Ah Rukia you-" he looked up and suddenly stopped, staring at Orihime who was staring back with uncertainty. "Well you two better get to school! And be on guard Ichigo!"

"Dumb shit," Ichigo muttered as they left the house.

* * *

Rukia ran down the streets, which she found difficult due to the assets bouncing in time on her chest. She found that it hurt, thinking that she didn't use the right bra. As she raced down the streets, following Orihime's rieatsu, she found them, walking down the street. Her heart suddenly hurt, just a little. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and walked gracefully towards the two.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san!" She said cheerfully, aware of Orihime's usual character and air.

Orihime looked at Rukia in surprise, suddenly seeing her body for the first time in front of her. She was tall! Well, at least from this angle.

"Good morning Kuchi- Inoue," Orihime stumbled, though Ichigo didn't notice.

"Oh, hi Inoue," he smiled slightly.

"Kuchiki-san, may I talk to you for a bit?" Rukia flashed Orihime's smile at Orihime. Orihime nodded, and stepped to the side.

"Well, I'll go ahead, see you guys at school," Ichigo muttered, without turning around to look at them.

Rukia waved Ichigo away with a smile, and then turned to Orihime in all seriousness.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt in any way?" Rukia asked, looking at Orihime in worry.

"Not at all Kuchiki-san… do you have any idea how we ended up in this situation?" Orihime looked up at her.

"Yes I do, before coming here I talked to Urahara… apparently he handed us some test candy," she sighed in annoyance.

"I guess it worked…" Orihime laughed, scratching the back of her head.

"Apparently." Rukia shook her head. "Urahara said the candy should wear off in five days, there's no way to make it wear off any faster." Rukia sighed. "I guess we'll have to stay in our bodies, and tell everyone what happened."

"Ano… I'd rather not Kuchiki-san…" Orihime said, Rukia looked at her in question.

"Oh?"

"You know that I… towards Kurosaki-kun…" She trailed off, Rukia smiled in understanding.

"Of course, if that's what you'd like Orihime," she replied. Orihime blushed. "But you've got to stop that," Rukia said. Orihime looked at Rukia in surprise.

"Stop what?" Orihime asked.

"Stop blushing and acting panicky, you've got to put up a strong front if you don't want anyone and especially Ichigo to find out."

Orihime nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Good," Rukia smiled, "by the way, are you okay with me like… showering and stuff?"

"Oh yes of course, I don't mind, and you?" Orihime asked, a little embarrassed to ask.

"Go ahead, we are girls aren't we?" Rukia laughed.

* * *

Rukia and Ichigo made their way out to the roof with everyone for lunch; the group lounged around and ate their lunch casually.

"Orihime or Rukia?" Chizuru repeated, Keigo waited for her answer.

"I would say Orihime, she's just so cute!" She exclaimed, grabbing the girl's large breasts from behind, but this was Rukia. Out of Reflex, she punched Chizuru while she blushed. The group looked at Rukia (Orihime) in surprise.

"Ah… I just I-"

"Lay off you guys," Ishida said, looking at Rukia with a smile.

"Are you alright Kuchiki-san?" he smiled politely, Rukia looked at him in surprise, "don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. This is for Orihime right?" He turned to said girl in Rukia's body.

Rukia followed his gaze and there was Orihime, walking beside Ichigo as 'Rukia' as she possibly could. The sudden pain came back again, and Rukia bit her lip, staring at the two. Why was she hurt when she saw them like that? Maybe Orihime's feelings were left with her… maybe a little bit of the feelings were secreting into her soul while being in Orihime's body.

_You're kidding right? _Sode no Shirayuki suddenly said. _You've got to be kidding Rukia-san. _

Okay, maybe they weren't Orihime's feelings going into her body. But if that were so, why did she feel that way?

"Something wrong Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, looking into her eyes.

"Ah nothing, nothing at all," Rukia shook her head quickly as she ate her lunch.

"So Ichigo, did you finally ask Rukia out yet?" Keigo asked.

"What the hell are you talking about Keigo?"

"You know, at least to one date, you two are practically dating anyway!" He laughed. Ichigo glared and punched Keigo across the face. The group tried to hide their laughter.

* * *

"See you guys later," Ichigo said, as he walked away from the group with Rukia by his side.

They walked in silence towards the house, and he turned to her, a little worried.

"You were pretty quiet today, is something bugging you?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing was bugging me, there are just some days where I like being quiet," Orihime answered, trying to guess what Rukia would say to such a question.

"Huh. That's quite an unexpected answer," Ichigo said, "What happened to the Rukia who hid almost everything from me?"

Orihime stayed silent, her mind frantic.

"Well, that's okay you don't have to tell me anything." Ichigo replied.

* * *

Rukia walked home alone, the pain in her heart ever growing. She cursed, why was she feeling that way? She felt particularly nothing for the strawberry, just respect and a hint of admiration. Though he was usually annoying and loud to the point where she was so used to it that the silence on the way home was scary.

"Hey sexy," a gruff voice from behind her called out. Rukia ignored it, continuing to walk home gracefully. "Hey, don't ignore me hot stuff."

"Yeah! It's pretty annoying when women pull that card on us." Said another.

"C'mon," said the first voice, his footsteps echoing closer and closer to Rukia. "Let's have some fun," at that he grabbed her butt.

Rukia turned with a glare, and punched him in the face with all her might. The man flew.

"You bitch!" said the man's companion; he pulled out a gun from his pocket, smirking, and then he said, "Not so tough now are you?" Rukia looked at him with an icy stare.

"I wasn't afraid of you in the first place," Rukia replied, and then the man pulled the trigger. Suddenly a bright orange shield appeared before her, surprised, but quickly adapting, she ran through the shield, and tackled the guy to the floor.

She punched him across the face, and kicked him in the jewels. The two lay on the ground, unconscious. She looked at them, thinking that she should maybe hide the bodies. But instead she grabbed their bodies and sat them up against the nearest fence, placing beer bottles in their hands and around them.

"That should show them," she smirked. She walked towards the still standing shield. "Thank you for protecting me."

"That's no problem, you are a friend of Orihime-chan's!" replied one of Orihime's shun shun rikka.

"Does that mean I can use you for the time being?" Rukia asked.

"Oh no you can't! Only that bratty princess can lead us," Tsubaki replied.

"Don't listen to him, use us when you feel necessary, you _are _inhabiting our master's body anyway."

"Thank you very much," Rukia smiled, and the fairies disappeared back to her hairpins.

Rukia walked into the apartment, and sighed. Loneliness greeted her once more. She imagined Orihime living by herself, her fragile personality living alone, staring at the picture of her brother at one of the small tables. No girl deserved that. She was familiar with the feeling of loneliness, and yet Ichigo changed it all.

She sighed.

_That idiot better be treating her well_, Rukia thought.

* * *

Ichigo knocked on the twins' bedroom door, food in his hands.

"Rukia! Dinner!" He said, opening the door before him.

"Oh, thanks," Orihime said. She decided to avoid calling him by his name for Rukia always called him by his first name.

"No problem, need any help with the math homework?" Ichigo asked, leaning over.

"Ah-" Orihime heated up.

"Huh. Strange, you got all those right," Ichigo said, "nice job midget." He chuckled.

_How easily she made him smile,_ Orihime thought.

"Well I got the hang of it," Orihime replied in a small voice. Truth be told, she was good at math so such questions and things were easy for her.

Suddenly her phone rang. Orihime jumped at the phone in her pocket. She pulled it out, and stared at a screen that resembled a map. The blinking dot in the centre, seemingly pinging insults at her.

"Looks like a hollow," Ichigo said, grabbing his shinigami badge, "race you to it!" He smirked confidently.

"Uh… I'd rather not Kuro-" Orihime started, "I mean go ahead, I'll finish my work here."

"Alright suit yourself," Ichigo shrugged, then left through the bedroom window.

Orihime let out a breath of relief, that was really too close. Orihime had no clue how to use Rukia's sword and even doubted that Sode no Shirayuki may even let her. It suddenly reminded her how useless she was to Ichigo in the first place. She sighed.

Maybe trading bodies with Rukia made no difference.

* * *

**A/N: **Behold! My 12th fanfiction! I hope you like this idea. We will be exploring Orihime and Rukia's characters, and for the first time, Orihime will have a supporting character role! Wheeeeee. I used to hate the girl, now I just wish her happiness. LOL.

If you have any comments, concerns or suggestions feel free to review!

P.S. I hope they were in character!


	2. Day Two

**The Truth**

**Chapter Two: Day Two**

_Reminder: Orihime is in Rukia's body and Rukia is in Orihime's body when you picture the scenes in your mind._

* * *

Orihime woke up wearily. She hadn't gotten much sleep due to the fact that she wasn't comfortable being at Ichigo's house. Sure they weren't in the same room, but she felt that it was still strange. She felt like a spy inside Rukia's body, though she thought it was still some sort of a godsend.

She got up slowly, surveying the room around her, and then she tiptoed out. She knew to watch out for Ichigo now, then walked to the bathroom, Rukia's uniform already in hand. Once she closed the door, she let out a breath of relief. She hummed away while brushing her teeth and showering. When she was nearly ready, she heard banging on the door.

"Damn it midget! Hurry! I need to pee!" Ichigo yelled from the other side. Orihime panicked, picking up her pajamas, and taking a final glance at the mirror before stepping out.

"You have to be quiet Kurosa-… your sisters are sleeping!" She said, mentally slapping herself for nearly calling him by his last name _again_. Ichigo glared at her.

"I wouldn't be yelling if you didn't take so long," he almost flash stepped into the bathroom, and shut the door.

Orihime was confused. She knew that Ichigo and Rukia's relationship was pretty rough, but she didn't know it also involved nicknaming and yelling. She sighed, _how lucky of you Kuchiki-san. _Orihime was never usually a jealous girl, but lately it was hard not to be. As she walked back into the sisters' room, she saw that Karin was awake.

"Ah you're awake-"

"Who are you?" She asked, looking straight at Orihime.

"What?" Orihime asked, as she stared back.

"You're not Kuchiki-san for sure," Karin muttered, "Why don't you get out of a body that's not yours?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, it really is me," Orihime answered. Karin glared.

"I know nii-chan is stupid enough to not sense that you're not Kuchiki-san, but don't think that my dad and I don't notice." Karin said. Orihime sighed.

"All right, but honestly I won't be in this body for long, in a few days Kuchiki-san will be back," Orihime said, smiling politely, defeated.

xxxx

Another lonely morning greeted Rukia and she sat up. She couldn't sleep because of the thoughts that were ravaging her brain, Ichigo this and Ichigo that. She huffed and ruffled Orihime's strawberry orange hair.

"Damn idiot, making me think about him almost all night," Rukia muttered angrily. She dragged herself out of bed, and took a shower. She finished quickly, out of habit, and found herself with nothing to do for half an hour.

"Might as well start walking to school now," she said, and picked up Orihime's bag.

She walked down the streets slowly, a soft breeze greeting her. It had been so long since she visited Soul Society, she laughed at the thought of them finding out about this body switch. She continued down the street, and heard Ichigo's voice. She scrambled behind a fence, and peeked at the orange-haired teenager. She saw that he was alone out of curiosity she walked over to him.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" Rukia said, as Orihime as she possibly could. Ichigo looked up at her, his gaze less rough as usual, but with an awkward smile.

"Good morning Inoue," Ichigo said, as he began walking.

"Where's Kuchiki-san?" Rukia asked, feeling awkward calling her own name.

"She left ahead of me, she seemed upset or something I don't know," Ichigo said.

"Ah…" Rukia answered, putting her finger up to her chin. "Well… now that she's gone, I wanted to ask you something."

Ichigo stayed quiet, clearly having something on his mind.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Rukia asked, trying to hide her slight irritation. It wasn't like Ichigo to ignore her… then she remembered that she was in Orihime's body.

"Huh? Oh sorry Inoue, go on," Ichigo said, looking at Rukia in the eyes.

"I want to know what you think of Kuchiki-san," Rukia said, her heart thumping and traveling into her throat. Ichigo looked at her in shock, as if it was something he just realized.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Rukia rolled her eyes in her head.

"I mean, what is she to you?" Rukia asked. Ichigo looked away in thought.

"She…" Ichigo started, a smile forming on his face as he stared on, Rukia blushed, looking at him in surprise, why would he be smiling? "She's like-"

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime yelled in Rukia's body. Ichigo whipped around to see Rukia panting.

"Kurosaki-kun? What do you mean by Kurosaki-kun, Rukia?" He looked at her with a puzzled yet slightly angry face. Orihime put her hands to Rukia's mouth.

"Ah… I-"

"Oh no Kurosaki-kun! We'll be late for class!" Rukia chimed in, saving Orihime from a fumbling explanation that would show too much of her actual character. "We should go!"

Ichigo looked at Orihime (Rukia) strangely and checked his own watch.

"Oh shit, we are going to be late, hurry up midget!" Ichigo called out to Orihime.

Rukia followed right behind them, dying to know what Ichigo really thought of her.

* * *

"Strange," Keigo started, "You've been walking to school with Inoue-chan more these days."

It was lunchtime, and they were at their usual spot.

"Why the hell does that matter?" Ichigo answered, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Maybe because I thought you were already hitched to Kuchiki-san," Keigo said, earning nods from those oblivious of the current situation.

"I'm not hitched to Rukia you idiot," Ichigo said, glaring at Keigo.

"But you do like her right?" Chizuru asked. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"No not really, she's actually very annoying," Ichigo muttered.

While in Orihime's body, Rukia fumed.

"Kuchiki-san, would you like some of the cupcakes I baked recently?" Ishida asked as he handed Orihime a cupcake covered in purple frosting.

"Huh?" Orihime asked, looking at him in surprise. Uryu smiled at her, and then Orihime knew. "Sure." She took the cupcake from his hand and ate a piece. "This is delicious!"

"Thank you," Ishida said, taking a bite of his own.

"Hey, why does Kuchiki-san get a cupcake and we don't?" Mizuro asked, frowning.

"Must mean he likes her," Chizuru answered. Ichigo huffed in annoyance.

"Can you stop with the 'he likes her' stuff?" He glared.

"Oh, Ichigo's jealous," Keigo said.

"I'm not jealous!" Ichigo yelled. Rukia felt a pang of heartache, and cleared her throat.

"Ah, excuse me, I have to go to the washroom," she smiled Orihime's smile and left the group. She glanced at Ichigo who barely even looked at her, and sighed.

Later, Orihime caught up with Rukia in the hallway, she seemed excited as she approached her. Rukia turned at the sound of her footsteps and waved slightly.

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime exclaimed, stopping in front of Rukia panting slightly.

"What is it Inoue?" Rukia asked.

"Don't tell anyone but… I think Ishida-kun likes you!" Orihime said. Rukia looked at her in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Rukia asked.

"He's always making things for you and giving them to you… like a gift of his love or something!" Rukia's eyebrow rose in question and then she realized what Orihime wasn't seeing.

"Well, I think that it's not me he likes," Rukia said.

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked. Rukia looked at Orihime for a few seconds and shook her head.

"Never mind, but I don't think you should be spreading rumours around Inoue," Rukia smiled. "At least know the truth from the person himself before acting."

* * *

Orihime walked alongside Ichigo, glancing up once in a while, still unsure that she was really walking beside him.

"What?" Ichigo suddenly said, looking at her with his usual scowl. "Is there something wrong with my face?"

"Ah no! Not at all!" Orihime burst, suddenly realizing that it wasn't a very 'Rukia' answer.

"Okay," Ichigo said, looking back at the road ahead of him.

Suddenly Rukia's cell phone rang. Orihime jumped, and took the phone out of her bag.

"That's weird, you keep it in there now?" Ichigo said, though he wasn't the type to usually notice these things.

"Uh yeah," Orihime answered with uncertainty. She flipped the phone open and tried to decipher the map.

"It's coming," Ichigo said, grabbing Rukia's small frame under his arm and running back to where they just walked from.

"What?" Orihime asked. Ichigo looked down at her in surprise as he slowed to a stop.

"What do you mean what? The hollow! You can sense it can't you?" Ichigo exclaimed, putting Orihime down.

At that exact moment, the hollow landed on top of Ichigo, who yelled out in pain.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed, ignoring the fact that it was an out of character cry.

"My! I have landed on something tasty this time!" Said the frog-like follow, its tongue wrapping around Ichigo's face.

Ichigo grit his teeth at the feeling of the slimy muscle. "Damn it Rukia, don't just stand there! Run!"

"What?" Orihime said again, slowly backing away as Ichigo's rieatsu rose. Suddenly out of nowhere a flash of black flew past her. Then she fell on the ground, her last thoughts were of Ichigo as she slipped from consciousness.

* * *

Rukia was walking home slowly; her day was ruined. It hurt to realize how Ichigo couldn't recognize that the woman beside him wasn't really her, well it was _her _but it wasn't like her true self was there. It wasn't like her soul was still there beside him. She knew he was dense when it came to sensing rieatsu, but not realizing it wasn't her rieatsu even though it was right beside him?

"Idiot." Rukia muttered.

Her soul… she thought, putting a finger to her chin, a habit she picked up from pretending to be like Orihime.

"That's it!" She exclaimed, fishing around her bag for her soul candy. She plopped Chappy into her mouth and closed her eyes, praying.

She opened her eyes, and turned around, seeing Orihime's body with a look of shock on. "Rukia-sama, why are you in Inoue-chan's body?" Chappy asked. Rukia examined her hands, and then felt the hilt of her sword. It worked!

She grinned and hugged Chappy, realizing how good it felt to be her again. It was then that she felt a surge of rieatsu.

"That's a hollow! And… Ichigo-sama!" Chappy exclaimed.

"Stay here," Rukia said, and she shunpo-ed towards the strong rieatsu.

She arrived at the scene seeing Orihime still in her body, her face unsure of how to help, and Ichigo underneath the large hollow about to eat him. She bit her lip in thought for a second, and then ran towards her own body. She punched Orihime's stomach while muttering an incantation and in an instant her body was on the floor, knocked out. Then she rushed to the hollow, slicing its mask cleanly in half.

She let out a breath of relief and watched as Ichigo stood up dusting himself.

"Was it that hard to kill such a low level hollow?" Rukia asked, smirking with confidence. Ichigo glared at her.

"He was on top of me midget, I couldn't move!"

"Excuses, excuses," Rukia said, sticking her tongue out. Ichigo glared.

"Oh yeah? What took you so long to get your body out? You were all 'Kurosaki-kun' in that annoying pitchy fake voice of yours," Ichigo yelled, glaring at her. Rukia narrowed her eyes.

"Well I'm _so _sorry you can't take a joke! I thought you could handle it!" Rukia replied.

"So now you admit that I could have handled it," Ichigo said. Rukia stomped her foot on the ground.

"That's not what I meant! I thought you could sense it after all that training you dumb ass!" She exclaimed.

"That's exactly what you meant stupid!" Ichigo retorted.

"Whatever," Rukia said, "I still killed a hollow that was sitting on you!" She laughed.

Ichigo's vein pulsed, and then he grabbed her while giving her a noogie. "Midget!" He said, chuckling.

"Ow ow ow!" Rukia said, laughing in between as well. Ichigo let go, and gave her a smile.

"Let's go home," he said, ruffling her hair. Rukia nodded and looked around for the unconscious Orihime.

"Actually…" Rukia started, "you go first, I have to get something at the store." Ichigo shrugged.

"Suit yourself." He picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "I'll see you at home," he called out as he walked away.

Rukia watched until he disappeared from her sight and walked over to her body. She stared at it, and then wondered if her idea would work. Picking herself up, she tried going in, but found herself being repelled out like a magnet against it's own charge.

"What the…" She said, and then Orihime's eyes fluttered open.

"Kuchiki-san?" Orihime said, looking up. "Am I dreaming?" Rukia shook her head with a polite smile.

"I'm sorry Inoue, I had to knock you out in order to help Ichigo," Rukia said, as she helped her back on her feet.

"Oh my gosh! Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed, looking around.

"Don't worry about it Inoue, I've taken care of it, he's on his way home now," Rukia said.

"Ah… I see…" _I was useless again,_ Orihime thought. "Wait… didn't he see you come from somewhere else?"

"No, Ichigo was too busy struggling with the hollow on his back. Besides, I timed and made it look like I came out of my body, luckily you weren't keeping an eye out either."

_She's so smart, _Orihime thought. "Thank you Kuchiki-san!"

"Well no need to thank me, anyway it seems like I can get out of your body so I can help Ichigo with things or kill the hollows before he can. May I have my cell phone back?" Rukia put her hand out, and Orihime placed the cell phone into her open hand. "Thanks, now you won't have to worry about being found out. I'll see you at school tomorrow Inoue." Rukia smiled, and walked away towards Orihime's house.

"Thanks again!" Orihime said and Rukia put her hand up in response.

Orihime sighed. In reality she wasn't asleep when Rukia administered the knock out spell, it did work but not for long. Right after Rukia killed the hollow, she woke up, but then heard Rukia's voice. She stayed asleep because she didn't want to interrupt. Her heart ached as she thought about their conversation… sure Ichigo was kind to her but he was always his true self around Rukia.

"Something I can't seem to bring out from him…" Orihime said sadly as she made her way to Ichigo's house.

xxxx

"Oh you're home. My dad's gone out with my sisters, I'm making dinner right now so just sit down and don't complain," Ichigo said, as he flipped the omelette in the pan.

Orihime sat down, her heart racing, Ichigo was making dinner and they were going to eat together… she blushed.

"So I hope you're okay with eggs, that's all I can seem to make at the moment," Ichigo said, his scowl etched deeper than usual.

In reality though, he was sort of nervous because it was the first time he ever cooked anything for anyone, let alone Rukia. He sat down across from her at the dining table, glancing up while eating his own breakfast.

Orihime looked down at her food with a slight pink on her cheeks. She picked up her fork and she ate it. Her head was spinning with joy as she chewed.

"How is it?" Ichigo asked, trying to sound as casual as he could.

"It's great!" Orihime replied cheerfully. Ichigo looked at her in a little bit of suspicion.

"You're not lying to me are you?" He asked.

"No, no! Of course not!" Orihime replied, waving her free arm. Ichigo nodded and smiled.

Orihime's heart skipped a beat.

xxxx

Rukia sat at Orihime's dining table, her eyebrows furrowed as she tackled several math questions. She tried her best at solving the problems, doing all she could to salvage what tutoring she could remember from Ichigo.

"If x equals…" she began muttering to herself, she was so concentrated on her work that she failed to notice Renji waiting outside her window.

After quite a bit of tapping Rukia finally opened the window and let him in.

"You can always just use the door when I'm here you know," Rukia said, as she walked back to her homework and sat down.

Renji stood there, staring at her in disbelief, "why are you in that chick's body?"

"Her name is Inoue, and it's because of Urahara's experiments again," she scribbled something down only to erase it quickly afterwards.

"I thought I told that guy to stop experimenting on you, damn it!" Renji said, angrily sitting down across Rukia at the table.

"It's okay Renji, it's not like I can't go back to my original form to kill hollows," Rukia said.

There was a moment of silence; Renji stared at Rukia while she did her homework.

"Does Ichigo know?" Renji asked, his face neutral. Rukia stopped writing and looked around with a sigh.

"Of course not," she laughed. "Ichigo can't sense rieatsu unless he absolutely needs to."

"Guess he takes you for granted these days," Renji said, staring into Rukia's eyes.

"Shut up, he's just stupid," Rukia said with a slight glare, and went back to her work.

Renji sat there and stared at her for a few seconds more and then got up, "I'll see you some other time Rukia, good luck with Ichigo." He grinned.

Rukia nodded with a smile as she walked past him to open the door. "I'll see you," she replied, and watched as Renji shunpo-ed away.

She closed the door and sat down at her work once more, only to stare past it.

"Takes me for granted? I don't know about that," Rukia muttered to herself.

* * *

**A/N:** WASSUP FANFICTION NATION, day two of the five day brain switch is now complete. Talk about useless eh Orihime? Haha. Just kidding, you just don't like killing things at all, we understand.

Please review with any concerns, comments or suggestions! I'll be back shortly with another update!


	3. Day Three

**The Truth**

**Chapter Three: Day Three**

_Note: Rukia is in Orihime's body and Orihime is in Rukia's body as you imagine the scenes. Also, after either of them say anything I usually state the real person who said it (the person in the body). _

* * *

Ichigo had that dream again. It was the dream where he recalled Rukia's death, the instant that her rieatsu dropped significantly causing him to literally turn around and head back. Would anything have changed if he followed after that drop of rieatsu? He always wondered if he could have saved her. He sat up, panting and sweating intensely from the dream. Why would that come back now? It's not like he lost her, right? She's still there, in his sisters' room probably sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

Though it wouldn't hurt to check.

* * *

Rukia sat up in Orihime's bed; she looked around with a yawn, still adjusting to the new environment around her. She checked the calendar of her cell phone, and widened her eyes in surprise. It was training day. That meant that everyone had to meet up to train together, as she and Ichigo always planned. Though if she did go, it meant that she had to get out of Orihime's body… but what about Orihime? She couldn't leave Rukia's body for she was a live soul.

Rukia grabbed her head; she felt a headache forming from the stress of the situation. She wearily stood up and made herself some breakfast. She decided that she could always skip training and tell Orihime to do so as well. But if Ichigo heard about it, she didn't know what he would do.

She picked up the phone and called the Kurosaki house.

* * *

The phone rang suddenly which caused Ichigo to jump as he attempted to sneak a check on Rukia sleeping. He quickly ran back to his room to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"_Ah… ohayo Kurosaki-kun!" _

"Oh, what is it Inoue?" Ichigo asked, his voice gentle.

"_I'd like to talk to Kuchiki-san, is she up?"_ She noticed Ichigo's change of voice whenever Orihime talked, she felt a stab of pain in her chest.

"I'm actually not sure, let me go check." Ichigo placed the phone on his desk and then walked down the hall to see if Rukia was awake. He opened his sisters' door and saw her there, reading a book.

"Rukia, Inoue's on the phone, she wants to talk to you," Ichigo said. Rukia looked at him in surprise and quickly got up, following behind him.

"Hello?"

_"Ah, Inoue listen carefully, we can't go to training today and I need you to tell Ichigo that okay? If he doesn't let you do what you want just run off and meet me here at your house."_

"Okay," Orihime replied, Ichigo looked at her, wondering what Orihime had to say.

_"If he asks what the conversation was about, tell him that you don't have to tell him squat."_

A look of worry formed on Rukia's face, "Ah but…" Orihime said.

_"No buts, you'll have to do this if you don't want anyone to find out."_

Orihime put the phone down afterward and let out a sigh.

"So what was that?" Ichigo asked, his trademark scowl etched on his face.

"Nothing," Orihime managed to mutter. Ichigo's eyebrow rose in suspicion.

"Something you're not telling me?" He stood up, looking down at her. At this point Orihime was actually afraid of what to say.

She decided to run.

"Hey!" Ichigo called out.

Rukia zoomed out of his room and down the stairs. She ran out the front door after grabbing her shoes, and put them on as she jogged slightly. She let out a relieved sigh as she began jogging back to her actual house.

Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her, she turned around and saw Ichigo speeding after her. She let out a little squeal and started pumping her legs quicker.

"OI! Rukia! Where are you going?" Ichigo yelled. Orihime didn't answer, she just continued running.

"Damn it! You do know that you can't run faster than me, right?" At this, Ichigo literally jumped a few meters and was right behind Rukia.

"STOP DAMN IT!" Ichigo tackled her to the ground. "Jeeze you-"

Rukia's face was red, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Ichigo blushed slightly, realizing the scene he made, and got up, dusting himself.

"I just wanted to walk with Inoue to the training grounds," Orihime said, trying to keep her 'Rukia' composure.

"Then why were you running?" Ichigo asked.

"I just didn't want to be late." Orihime answered, not looking at Ichigo.

* * *

Rukia stared at the large cavern in worry. She didn't know what to expect at this training session. Beside her, Orihime in her body was worried as well. They glanced at Urahara who was obviously smiling behind his fan.

"Off you kids go to training, though this time Rukia and Inoue-san won't be joining you," Urahara said.

Ichigo looked at the pair and shrugged. It wasn't hard to get them to go with him.

"Come with me you two," Urahara said.

"Why should we follow you? You might experiment on us again," Rukia teased as she stepped behind Urahara up the stairs.

"Now Kuchiki-san, it is not the time for satire, I am merely checking on you," he replied.

They sat down in one of Urahara's large rooms.

"So," Urahara began, as he picked up a notebook lying beside him and opened it to a fresh page. "How are you two feeling?"

"Pretty good actually, despite the fact that our souls were switched," Rukia replied.

"Souls?" Urahara asked without looking up, scribbling notes down.

"Yeah, I can get out of this body using Chappy but I can't get back into Inoue's because she's a live soul."

"Hmm, interesting…"

"I can use her Shun Shun Rikka too," Rukia said.

"Really?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah they let me use them as long as it was for protecting your body," Rukia replied.

"Ah I see!"

"Very good, and have you guys felt any headaches of sorts?"

"No not at all," Orihime replied this time.

"That's excellent," Urahara said, as he continued writing.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but, why did you make this candy?" Orihime asked.

"Well Inoue-san, it's for Soul Society's use and maybe even for humans. I tested it on you two because Kuchiki is dead and you are alive, the worst that could have happened was eternally getting you both stuck in the middle of the switch."

Rukia glared at him.

"But it all worked out, right?" Urahara laughed awkwardly. "I suggest you both return to the training grounds, Rukia can still train your Shun Shun Rikka for you Inoue, just sit this one out this time."

* * *

"It's weird, I don't know if it's just me but Orihime doesn't seem like her usual self," Tatsuki said to Renji and Uryu.

"What do you mean?" Uryu asked, pretending not to know what was going on.

"It's like Inoue-chan became more uptight and sort of… mature?" Keigo added. He regularly attended training as well; he didn't feel like running around scared anymore.

"Yeah, like Orihime's childish bubbly side sort of toned down," Tatsuki said.

There was a brief silence as the group stared at Orihime.

"Then there's Kuchiki-san," Keigo said, "it's like she's become ditsy and stammers more."

"I even heard her almost say 'Kurosaki-kun' a lot," Tatsuki whispered.

"Maybe that's just Rukia's way of making fun of Ichigo," Renji said, clearing his throat.

"Really?" Tatsuki said, "Because the only person I know that calls Ichigo that is Orihime."

"Something is going on," Keigo said.

"Oi! You four! Get back to training!" Urahara exclaimed.

They scuttled away, and Renji sparred with Uryu. Tatsuki continued teaching Keigo some basic hand to hand combat, though she was frustrated at how weak he was.

"What's even stranger, Kuchiki's just sitting there and not training, she and Ichigo were the ones who put this together." Tatsuki added, Keigo turned to look at Rukia but was punched across the face. "Pay attention!" Tatsuki exclaimed.

"Woah, that chick's going at it," Renji said, as he and Uryu turned to watch the strawberry haired teen.

Orihime stood there, her Shun Shun Rikka cutting a target in half. She sent fairies flying towards Renji who cut the string that was holding up his hair and surrounded him in a shield. Orihime suddenly realized that she was having too much fun with the fairies and quickly dropped the training. She walked up to Rukia who was sitting on one of the rocks as everyone stared on.

"Kuchiki!" Tatsuki yelled, at this, Orihime whipped her head around. Tatsuki looked at her in confusion as she turned back, muttering something and hiding her face.

"What is it Tatsuki?" Rukia (Orihime) called out.

"Nothing!" Tatsuki exclaimed, suspicion clear on her face.

* * *

Renji walked out of the store with Tatsuki beside him. She was unexpectedly quiet.

"What's on your mind?" Renji asked, looking over at her.

"Huh? Oh, I think Orihime and Rukia switched bodies," Tatsuki said, looking at the two girls walking beside Ichigo. Renji looked at her in shock.

"What-"

"Their rieatsu, it switched. I get that they don't wanna say anything 'cus of Ichigo but a little heads up would have been nice," Tatsuki said.

"Rukia, Inoue!" Renji called out.

The two turned towards him, along with Ichigo who had an annoyed look on. Orihime ran towards Renji, with Rukia following behind her.

"What is it Abarai-san?" Rukia asked in an Orihime fashion.

"Wow, she's good," Tatsuki said.

"What?" Orihime asked in Rukia's body.

"She knows," Renji said, "So does Keigo and Uryu, the only person left is Ichigo."

Orihime looked at Renji in shock, "You absolutely cannot tell Ichigo," Rukia said.

"Of course not," Tatsuki said, "I know what you're planning Kuchiki, and it's okay, I'll follow along."

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh! That means Ishida-kun meant to give those cupcakes to me!" Orihime exclaimed.

"I heard my name," Uryu chimed in, merging with the group.

"Ah nothing Ishida-kun… I just realized that you gave me the cupcakes so… thank you," she smiled at him. Uryu blushed slightly and cleared his throat as he pushed up his glasses.

"No problem Inoue," he smiled back.

"What's going on?" Ichigo butt in with an annoyed look on.

"Nothing," Tatsuki said, "Renji and I are going now, coming Uryu?" Ishida nodded.

"I'll go with them too," Rukia said and she followed Tatsuki, "I'll see you tomorrow Kuchiki-san! Kurosaki-kun!" She waved at them as she jogged towards the rest of the group.

Ichigo just put a hand up, and turned to walk away. Rukia quickly followed behind him, her head down and staring at her feet.

Orihime and the rest of her friends walked down the street together. Renji was arguing with Rukia about how much stronger he was compared to her, while Uryu and Tatsuki listened intently, laughing every so often.

"So, are you alright with this situation Kuchiki?" Tatsuki asked. Orihime sighed.

"I guess so, Inoue's liked Ichigo for a long time and I guess this won't hurt," she said.

"Though I don't think this will help," Uryu said, pushing up his glasses.

"What do you mean?"

"Ichigo still thinks it's you, she'll realize it sooner or later... she'll only get hurt." Uryu explained.

"On the other hand, Orihime will get to spend time with Ichigo," Tatsuki added, "I guess we'll have to see how it works out."

Rukia nodded, her face grim.

"What if they're like kissing and stuff?" Renji asked, staring at Rukia.

"I doubt that, Ichigo's dense about anything related to like or love," Rukia said.

"Who knows," Renji said, "have you ever asked him?"

"No," Rukia said, "but if he can't see Orihime's feelings for him after all this time..."

"As I said, we'll have to see how it turns out," Tatsuki said, punching Renji in the shoulder.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, turning around to look at her.

"Huh? N-nothing's wrong!" Orihime replied.

"Then walk beside me at least," Ichigo said, and he watched as the petite shinigami walked to his side.

They shared an awkward silence as they continued home.

"Hey uh-" Ichigo started, he scratched the back of his head, "wanna go out for dinner again?"

"What?" Rukia looked up in surprise at Ichigo, "but why?" Orihime asked.

"What do you mean why? You're the one who always demands me to take you out for dinner after training!" Ichigo said, glaring.

"Ah! Oh okay… let's go eat!" Orihime answered, smiling Rukia's smile.

After taking nearly half an hour to decide, they ended up eating at a nearby McDonald's. Rukia sat down with Ichigo at one of the tables near the window. The sun was setting and Orihime just stared dreamily outside. It felt like a dream being able to go out to have dinner with Ichigo.

"What do you want to eat?" Ichigo asked, sitting across her and pulling out his wallet. Rukia looked up at the menu and then turned to Ichigo with a shrug.

"I don't know, what should I eat?" Orihime asked, not really knowing what Rukia's preferences were.

"Are you okay? You usually decide what you want really quickly, especially concerning food." Ichigo said. Orihime didn't know what to say.

"Just get me what you're getting!" Orihime said and that earned her another confused look.

"But you don't like what I usually get at McDonald's… Rukia are you okay?" He was worried now, it was clear on his face. Orihime was trapped; she really didn't know what to do. Ichigo sighed in frustration, "I'll just get you the usual then, there was no point in asking." He got up to leave.

Orihime watched him order, her heart racing from what just happened. She still wasn't used to being stared in the eyes by him, let alone sitting across from him and sharing a meal!

"And yet Kuchiki-san does so almost every single day…" Orihime muttered to herself.

"What?" Ichigo said, carrying the tray of food and sitting down.

"Nothing!" Orihime answered, caught off guard.

"Heh okay, well dig in," Ichigo said, and he opened his box. Orihime grabbed hers and began to eat.

They didn't say much at the table, Orihime though had butterflies in her stomach and her heart was racing a thousand miles per hour. She tried her best hiding it, which was hard, for her emotions usually showed clearly on her face.

They finished a few minutes later and threw out the garbage left on their trays. Ichigo opened the door for her and she muttered a small thank you, trying her best not to blush. They were met by the cool night, it was around seven p.m. and the darkness was catching up to them. Ichigo sidestepped a little closer to Rukia as he saw a group of men loitering at a bus stop.

"You've been quiet these days," Ichigo said, not looking at the woman beside him. "You're usually noisy, loud and annoying." He laughed and turned to Rukia, half expecting a punch. He was surprised that he wasn't met with a punch but a sort of flustered face. He cleared his throat.

"Well that's okay I guess, silence is good," he finished. More silence again.

"I've been thinking a lot lately… Inoue asked me a really weird question yesterday."

Orihime didn't know what to say at that either so she continued to stay silent.

"She asked me what I thought about you," he continued, "Honestly, that question threw me off."

Rukia had a slight look of shock on.

"No it's not a bad thing!" Ichigo said, looking her in the eyes. "It's that…"

"You don't have to explain," Orihime answered, _please don't answer the question_.

"But I need to," he scratched the back of his head and looked to the side, a habit he picked up from his dad.

Orihime stayed silent and looking down, not wanting to make eye contact. She already knew what he was going to say.

"You're… really important to me…" Ichigo started, his voice softer than usual, "you've changed my life for the better," he turned to her with a smile, "and no one can ever take your place, Rukia."

Rukia looked up, her eyes wet, portraying Orihime's emotions. Ichigo looked at her in surprise.

"Kurosaki-kun I-" Orihime suddenly realized the words she used, and covered her mouth with her hands. He looked at her with hurt eyes.

"I see… I realized that you've been calling me that. Why? It's not a joke anymore is it?"

"No it's-"

"If you wanted to push me away you can at least say so," Ichigo muttered, trying his best to hide the pain in his voice.

"That's not it!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Then what? I literally told you what I felt about you and you call me 'Kurosaki-kun'? Inoue's the only one who calls me that!" Ichigo yelled.

Rukia clutched her dress, biting her lip as tears fell. She turned and began walking past him, Ichigo grabbed her by the arm but she pulled away. She then ran away as fast as she possibly could.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called out, he watched as the girl ran with all her might. He sighed. "I should think my feelings through before acting upon them," Ichigo said in almost a whisper.

He began to walk home and punched a nearby cement pole. He grazed his knuckles, but he ignored it, and punched the pole once more. Without realizing it, his rieatsu rose with his rage, and a few minutes later a hollow cried out.

He was not in the mood for this. He popped out of his body and made his way towards the hollow, his heart confused.

* * *

Tears welled up in Rukia's eyes. She was a fool; a fool for thinking that by agreeing not to tell Ichigo about the body switch would make her feel better. That being by Ichigo's side for only a few days would make her happier. Instead it only made her feel worse... it just made her see the truth even more.

She forgot that Ichigo wasn't seeing Inoue Orihime at all - he was seeing Kuchiki Rukia.

The Kuchiki Rukia that saved his family.

The Kuchiki Rukia that gave him powers.

The Kuchiki Rukia that stopped the rain.

What was she thinking? She wasn't Kuchiki Rukia at all. She was nothing like her. She wasn't strong or beautiful; she was nothing like the girl who permanently had a place by Ichigo's side.

"A girl that no one can replace," she repeated.

She ran all the way back to her apartment to find Rukia. She didn't know how she would explain her tears or how to tell her about Ichigo's confession, but she decided that she should. Inoue Orihime wasn't the kind of girl who would destroy love.

She knocked insanely at her own door and was greeted by her own surprised face.

"Inoue what happened?" Rukia asked, bringing her into the apartment.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She panted from the long run.

"Here, I'll get you some water, sit down," Rukia said, and she ran to the kitchen.

Orihime looked around, the house seemed cleaner than usual, and the faint smell of vanilla wafted around her. Rukia gave her the glass of water and Orihime finished it within a few gulps.

"So tell me, what happened?" Rukia looked at Orihime worriedly.

"Kurosaki-kun he…" Orihime stared at Rukia and then said, "Kurosaki-kun confessed that he…"

* * *

**A/N: **So… what's Hime going to say? Is she gonna lie? Or is she going to tell the truth? P.S. I apologize for any mistakes!

And LOL, I can never seem to formulate a decent conversation between Ichigo and Orihime.

Please leave your comments, suggestions or concerns in a review! Chow for now!


	4. Day Four

**The Truth**

**Chapter Four: Day Four**

_Remember: Orihime has Rukia's appearance and Rukia has Orihime's appearance!_**  
**

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun confessed that he…" Orihime let out a sigh, "that you're really important to him."

Rukia looked at Orihime with a look of mixed emotions, "But everyone's important to Ichigo."

Orihime looked at her in surprise, what kind of a reply was that?

"No Kuchiki-san, you're beyond important to him… more than anyone else in his life," Orihime explained, wondering why she was trying her best to convince Rukia of her hidden feelings.

"I see," Rukia simply said, looking away. "Anyway you should stay here for the night, unless you'd rather go back to Ichigo." She looked at Orihime with a smile.

"What? Aren't you happy at all?" Orihime asked, her voice slightly rising.

"About Ichigo's confession?" Rukia asked, and upon receiving a vigorous nod from Orihime, she shook her head. "It's just so unreal, he's probably confused, I'm just a friend, I gave him what he desired so it's probably nothing more than admiration."

Orihime looked at Rukia sadly, her broken heart written all over her face.

"But Kuchiki-san… he was so serious, you could tell how much you meant to him… it was in his eyes!" Orihime exclaimed, leaning in, and nearly touching noses with Rukia.

"I'm sorry, Inoue, I'll need time to think about it, and even then I'm not sure how to take it."

"Tell him you feel the same way! That's all you have to… that's all you _should _do Kuchiki-san."

There was a long silence after that. Orihime sighed and agreed to stay with Rukia for the night, and she slept in her own bed. Memories from the loneliness of her apartment swamped her mind. Why wouldn't Kuchiki-san be happy about Ichigo's confession? If she were her, she'd be jumping in joy and running to Ichigo confessing her feelings as well.

But then again, she wasn't Kuchiki Rukia.

She never will be anywhere near Kuchiki Rukia.

* * *

_Day Four._

Orihime sat up on the couch; she hadn't slept a week last night. Thoughts of Ichigo ran through her mind. Her heart was aching though she already knew how she felt about Ichigo… well at least had an idea of it. Truth was, she did care exponentially about the shinigami substitute. Whether it was love or respect… she didn't want to know. She was too scared to find out. She let out a heavy sigh, and heard footsteps. She looked up and saw herself rubbing her eyes.

"Did you have a good sleep Inoue?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, Kuchiki-san, I missed my big bed," Orihime replied, laughing.

They headed to school together that day. Both knew what they had to face when they entered the classroom. Though they didn't know what to expect.

"Good morning Kuchiki-san! You are just as beautiful as always. And ah, the gorgeous Inoue-chan, how are you this morning?" Keigo asked, bowing before the ladies as he talked.

"I'm doing well, thank you Asano-san," Rukia replied in Orihime's body.

She watched as Orihime, who was in her body, approach Ichigo by the windowsill. Ichigo looked defeated. He had bandages around his hands, his face looked forlorn and hurt. There were bags under his eyes. Orihime didn't notice the look on her face that was seen by everyone before her.

"It's okay Kuchiki, it'll be over soon," Tatsuki said, patting Orihime on her back.

"That's not it," Rukia replied, "Inoue told me that Ichigo confessed his true feelings." Tatsuki looked at Rukia in surprise. "And for the first time, I don't know how to go about handling this situation," she looked at Tatsuki with a bittersweet smile, her eyes becoming teary.

"As I said before, we'll have to see how this all turns out," Tatsuki said with a sigh.

Ichigo turned to the raven-haired woman he supposedly only 'admired' with the best poker face he could manage.

"Are you alright?" Orihime asked, she knew now to avoid calling his name.

"Perfectly fine, why do you ask?" Ichigo replied, the scowl fooling no one in reality. Rukia looked at him in worry, the same worry she had on her face when he met her on the bridge nearly two years ago. "Nothing," Orihime said, and displayed Rukia's smile.

Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Where'd you run off to last night?"

"I stayed over at Inoue's place," Orihime answered, still not used to saying her own name.

"I see," Ichigo answered. "Well you can stay there as long as you like, after what I told you I understand why you wouldn't want to come back."

"Kuro-"

"Can you quit it with that already!" Ichigo yelled. The entire class turned to his sudden outburst. "It's Kurosaki-this Kurosaki-that, if I didn't know any better I'd say you turned into Inoue!" His anger and pain was coming out in vomits of words that he didn't mean.

"I-"

"You what?" He asked with a cold stare. "You're sorry? Is that what you're going to say next?" Sarcasm dripped heavily from his words.

"Ichigo, calm down." Tatsuki said, stepping in. Their stares collided; the room was so silent that you could hear the rowdy students from the neighbouring class.

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo muttered, running a hand through his hair and leaving the classroom.

The class eventually turned back to the peaceful environment before hand, though one could still feel the tension. Orihime tried her best not to cry, for she was in Rukia's body, and Kuchiki Rukia, to her knowledge, doesn't cry very easily.

"Kuchiki-san you… please talk to Kurosaki-kun," Orihime begged. She watched herself shake her head, answering a gentle no.

"I can't Inoue, right now I don't know what to do either…" Rukia replied, patting Orihime's head.

"I wish… I wish I didn't agree to hiding this…" Orihime said, tears finally flowing down Rukia's face.

Their friends looked at her in worry. Ishida suddenly cleared his throat, and tilted Rukia's face up. He had a soft smile on.

"You shouldn't cry for this, you should be happy about the time you spent with Kurosaki, if anything," Uryu said, though his heart ached at his own words.

Rukia smiled slightly at this, though tears were still falling from her violet eyes.

"You're right… Ishida-kun…" Orihime answered.

* * *

Ichigo didn't want to go back to school. He walked out of the entrance and past the school gates. He continued to walk down the empty streets, to nowhere in particular. He just didn't want to be anywhere near that woman. But at the same time he wanted to hold her close.

Was she really that important to him? Ichigo repeated this question in his mind several times. His inner world hated it when he was down and depressed, but even they couldn't help it. Every time anything bad happened that was related to Rukia, a typhoon would formulate in his soul.

That was reason enough for him, to say that she was very important. But, that still didn't convince him at the time, because anyone who was important to him can easily strike up a storm. The seemingly tough Ichigo was still, though he hated to admit, a teenager. Hormones still ran rampant through his system, he wanted to sit at home doing nothing, and he didn't mind school but always found that training was more interesting. Several women appeared before him, some scantily dressed to Yoruichi's lack of clothing. He was healthy, healthy enough to react with a red flush on his face, and panic at the sight of a woman's body. Yet… when he saw those violet eyes… shivers down his spine.

It lifted him up from his lowest points.

It gave him strength.

From a few annoying words finished with some sort of physical abuse… she could change his world.

"Just as easily as killing a low level hollow," Ichigo said, frowning.

Had he not affected her life in any way? Was he just another 'Renji' at worst?

Was he anything to her other than a shinigami substitute at all?

"Fuck this," Ichigo said, punching a nearby object again, the wounds on his knuckles reopening.

He crashed onto the cement floor, his knees up, and his arms resting on them.

"What's going through your mind, Rukia?"

* * *

Rukia took a breather from Orihime's body that afternoon. Ichigo didn't go back to school, which really worried her. So she decided to look for him, which was tough because he had become an expert at hiding his own rieatsu.

"Stupid strawberry," she said as she jumped from roof to roof.

Now Kuchiki Rukia still didn't know what to do about the whole situation concerning Ichigo's feelings. But right now she needed to help him snap out of it, or at least comfort him to an extent. Maybe she was the wrong person to do it, but she was left with no choice. If Ichigo continued on his pointless depression like that, who knows who else he could hurt.

She spotted his hair, his messy mop of delightfully orange hair. At that, he looked up, sensing her rieatsu. He stopped walking and watched as Rukia landed before him.

"Why weren't you at school?" Rukia asked with her arms crossed. Ichigo shrugged.

"I saw no reason to be in the same room as you," he muttered. Rukia glared and punched him in the gut.

Ichigo doubled over, "what the hell!" He exclaimed.

"You need to understand what you're going through right now, fine I get it. But you didn't have to take it out on me in front of the entire class!" Not to mention that it was actually Orihime he was yelling at. Ichigo glared at her.

"Why? If you can do so much as to call me 'Kurosaki-kun' for nearly four straight days and run away after I freaking confessed to you, how the _fuck_ am I supposed to react?" Ichigo exploded. Rukia stayed silent.

"Exactly, so leave me alone," Ichigo turned around to leave.

"Wait," Rukia said, her voice suddenly very weak. Ichigo turned around and was a little surprised to see her gaze set down at her feet. "Say what you said to me the other day, and I'll answer you."

"I'd rather not go through that hell again," Ichigo said, trying his best to remain unfazed.

"Just tell me… just say it again," Rukia said.

"No." Ichigo retorted, "I'm not in the mood for this right now, so just go okay?" The orange-headed teenager turned and began to walk away.

Rukia glared at him from behind.

"You're really dense you know that?" She began, "you can never seem to see what's right under your nose."

Ichigo stopped walking, standing there, still facing the opposite direction.

"Someone can hit you in the face with the answer or even a damn clue and you wouldn't know what it was unless someone told you. If you think that you can just push me around and tell me to leave you alone, well wake up Ichigo." She took a breath. "You will never be able to get rid of me, do you know why?" The angered woman took a pause for an answer. But none came. "Because I've always been by your side. It's always been that way. Every single one of your friends as well, so drop the 'I'm so cool act' shut up and go back to the annoying person I used to know."

Ichigo turned around; his face remained neutral but his eyes showed his pain and confusion. Rukia looked at him with a strong slightly angry gaze.

"I just need time alone." Ichigo replied. Rukia sighed.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. I'll be where you need me." Rukia shunpo-ed away.

Ichigo watched as she disappeared, with a heavy sigh, he decided to walk down a block more, and then return home.

* * *

Rukia slipped back into Orihime's body and sighed. She sat down on the couch and flipped through her sketchbook. That was rather unproductive encounter in her opinion for she had never seen Ichigo so depressed, not to mention the fact that she couldn't bring him back.

"Well, after tonight, this will no longer be a problem… hopefully," she muttered, as she sketched away.

* * *

Orihime sat in Ichigo's bedroom, waiting for him to return. She had just gotten used to the fact that she, being 'Rukia', was able to go into his room whenever she felt so. Suddenly she heard the door swing open, she turned and saw him, his face still attempting to hide the pain, but his eyes a little gentler than before.

"Hey," Ichigo said, as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Hi," Orihime managed to reply, trying her best not to blush.

Ichigo walked over to his dresser and rummaged through his drawer. Although his pajama pants were in the other side of his room, on top of his desk.

"Ah… hold on I can step outside," Orihime said. Ichigo opened the door for her and she walked out. As soon as he finished, he opened the door to let her in again.

"Ever since I told you about… I can't seem to do these kinds of things in front of you anymore," he laughed awkwardly as he sat down beside her on his bed.

"Yeah…"

"You were right about what you said, as much as I hate to admit it," he sighed. Orihime couldn't answer, for she didn't know what he was talking about. "It's like, while I'm fighting, sometimes I forget who I'm fighting for."

Rukia turned to him and smiled, "But you never did. When you went to Soul Society to rescue me, you never wavered, you saved Inoue and your entire town, aren't you proud of that?"

Ichigo turned away; he always had the habit of putting others before him, and never gave himself credit for hard work. "I guess."

"There you go," Orihime answered. Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

"Do you… want me to say it again?"

"Say what?" Orihime asked, looking at Ichigo with a puzzled look.

"You know… how I really care about you," he replied, looking away with a slight pink on his cheeks.

"Uh… not yet I need some more time to think about it," Orihime answered, she sighed internally.

"What are you talking about? A few hours ago you said that you already had an answer."

"I did? I said that?" Orihime answered, a hint of panic in her voice. "What do you mean, I-"

"Don't do this again Rukia. You really like pulling my leg don't you?"

"I really don't remember though… I mean I don't remember what I was going to answer you…sort of…" Orihime trailed off, as she saw Ichigo's expression change into a sadder one. "I'm sorry-"

"It's okay, I shouldn't have forced my feelings onto you anyway. You don't have to feel the same way. I'm going to bed now, so get off," he muttered, pushing her away gently. Rukia jumped up off the bed at his touch.

"But Kuro- I mean-"

"Just shut up." Ichigo pulled his blanket over his frame, and turned to the wall.

Rukia stood there, watching him in sadness, after lingering for a few seconds she left the room.

"Damn it! I didn't know what to say…" Orihime whispered to herself, "Kuchiki-san! What was she thinking?"

She huffed as she closed the door behind her upon entering the Kurosaki sisters' room. She plopped down onto the bed, sighing once more.

"I could have just told him though… what _I _felt… it'd sound like a confession more or less. He wouldn't be so depressed if I just said _something _implying mutual feelings… ugh! And I called him 'Kurosaki-kun' again!" She slammed her head onto the pillow. Tears built in her eyes, and flowed down slowly. "It would be so much easier if he just fell for me."

Sniffling, she pulled her blankets over her, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Ichigo sat up. After drifting in and out of sleep for hours, he gave up. He couldn't sleep with the pain aching in his chest.

"I sound like a girl," he sighed, as he rubbed his eyes.

He sat there in silence for a few moments, his head as blank as his empty stare.

"Should I talk to her?" Ichigo muttered, after a brief silence he said, "Never mind."

He decided to take a walk in his shinigami form. He always felt more refreshed after a quick hollow hunting. After he placed his body in his bed with the covers on, he slipped into the darkness through his window. He shunpo-ed from roof to roof wondering what to do next. If Rukia didn't feel the same way, should he give up on her? Well, he thought, he _should_, but it wasn't like he _wanted _to. He blushed a little. He'd never felt something so deep for a girl before. It was usually platonic, laced with his obsession to protect others and now that he was faced with something like love… he was unsure of what to do. The orange haired shinigami landed soundlessly on a rooftop, his mind still elsewhere, he was about to step off when he slipped and nearly fell 30 feet onto the asphalt below. He quickly stopped himself, and floated back to the rooftop he fell off of.

"Ridiculous," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head with a sigh.

He found it eerily quiet in the town; there was usually a low level hollow squirming around near dawn. He closed his eyes and tried to sense its rieatsu, only to realize something strange.

"What the-" he said, as he opened his eyes. He closed them again, just to make sure.

Rukia's rieatsu wasn't in the direction of the house, in fact, it was the opposite. Ichigo checked a few times more and was sure. Though his rieatsu sensing abilities were now impeccable, he couldn't believe it. Rukia was at Orihime's house. He tried to wrap his mind around the idea. Last he remembered she left his room about six hours ago. Maybe she decided to visit, he thought.

"Not this early in the morning," he confirmed to himself.

Curious about his findings, he shunpo-ed towards Orihime's house.

* * *

_Day Five_

Orihime was busy washing the dishes of her finished breakfast. She hummed away as she placed the plates onto the dryer, and dried her hands on a towel. She then walked out of the kitchen to the living room, where she sat on the couch reading a book.

It was then she heard a knock on the door.

She looked up, wondering who would see her so early on a weekday morning. She opened the door and was surprised to see Ichigo in his shinigami uniform, his infamous scowl long on his face.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, good morning!" Rukia said, smiling. "Ano… why are you here so early?"

"Is Rukia here?" Ichigo asked, nearly interrupting her.

"No, of course not, she's at your house Kurosaki-kun!" Rukia replied with Orihime's smile.

"Really?" Ichigo asked.

They locked stares for a moment.

"Yes, of course she's not here Kurosaki-kun!" Rukia repeated, her mind running in panic.

"Cut that shit out Rukia, don't you dare lie to me," Ichigo said, pushing past her into Orihime's house and slamming the door closed behind him.

"What do you-" she was cut off by a shove on her shoulder, slamming her back onto the door. Ichigo placed his hands on either side of her head, leaning on the door and staring into Orihime's eyes.

"I don't know what you're doing in Orihime's body, but I freaking better get an explanation now," Ichigo glared, looking into Orihime's grey eyes seriously.

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize for this late update, I was really busy preparing for school. D: Anywho, here is chapter four! I hope it wasn't too boring. I don't know why but I found this harder to write. Hmm... well around 1 or 2 more chapters to go! Keep an eye out! :)

If you have any comments/questions/concerns or suggestions, please leave a review!

P.S. I hope they were in character.


	5. Day Five

**The Truth **

**Chapter Five: Day Five**

_Remember: Rukia has Orihime's appearance and Orihime has Rukia's!_

* * *

Ichigo slammed Orihime onto the door behind her. She looked up at him with eyes of shock. He glared, and slammed his fist onto the door.

"Explain to me. Now." He demanded. Orihime gulped.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about Kuro-"

Ichigo interrupted her next lie with another punch on the wood.

"Don't. Fucking. Lie to me." He stared into her eyes with intensity.

Rukia stayed silent, staring up at Ichigo and not knowing what to say. She wasn't afraid, she was just shocked, the orange haired teen rarely raised his voice at her concerning serious purposes.

"Fine," Rukia admitted, it was the final day of the soul switch anyway, "I admit that I am in Inoue's body." Ichigo's strong gaze didn't falter. After a brief silence, Rukia sighed. "As to why I'm in here it's because Urahara-"

She suddenly let out a painful scream. Orihime slid down the door behind her and fell onto the floor, clutching her head all the while.

"Rukia what-"

"Inoue… go get Inoue!" Rukia cried breathlessly.

"What are you-"

"Go get her Ichigo!" She yelled, looking up at him, her eyes full of pain.

The teen had no choice but to listen, and turned to the open window hesitantly.

"I'll be back."

* * *

Rukia was walking into the bathroom; she didn't check Ichigo's room that morning for she didn't feel like she should pry. She sighed.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said, as she pulled out her own toothbrush and placed some of her toothpaste on it.

After she finished in the bathroom, she proceeded into the dining room where the Kurosakis were waiting.

"Where's Ichi-nii?" Karin asked as she put some butter onto her toast.

"Ah… I'm not sure," Orihime answered.

Isshin and Karin were aware of the current situation, though Yuzu was oblivious to the whole thing.

"I wonder if he went out hunting for one of those ghost things again," Yuzu said, as she slipped some steaming sunny side up eggs onto an empty plate. Rukia shrugged, she pulled a seat and sat down elegantly, grabbing a piece of toast.

"I don't know what made you think you could fool us," Karin said suddenly, staring at Orihime with angry eyes. "But I hope you go back to where you belong soon."

"Karin!" Isshin exclaimed, "She is a guest not an intruder! Besides, Ichigo probably noticed this by now."

"Yeah, it's not like I'm similar to Kuchiki-san at all," Orihime added nearly in a whisper.

"Obviously not, unlike her you're absolutely weak," Karin said, munching on a piece of her toast.

"Karin," Isshin said, giving his daughter a disappointed look.

There was an awkward silence that followed immediately after.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said," Karin said out of the blue. Rukia shook her head with a polite smile.

"Oh don't worry about it, I can-" Orihime let out a small squeak of pain, clutching her head. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

"What's wrong?" Isshin asked, looking at the girl worriedly and rushing over to her side.

"N-nothing's wrong th-ahh!" Orihime screamed. Isshin closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"I'll take her to my friend, Karin, you and Yuzu get to school on time okay?" Isshin said, his mannerisms as a doctor acting up.

"Okay," Karin replied, opening the front door for Isshin to guide Rukia through. Ichigo shunpo-ed to the door.

"Dad, I'll handle her," Ichigo muttered, his face surprisingly calm despite the situation before him.

"She'll be fine," Isshin said, lifting Rukia's limp body into his arms, by now Orihime passed out from the pain. "Go get Rukia."

Ichigo looked at his father in surprise, and then disappeared in a breath.

* * *

Orihime struggled to stand, using the doorknob for support. Rukia deduced, though her mind was aching like a thousand drills were trying to break out of her skull, that it was around time for the body switch. She didn't remember feeling pain though, was it some sort of pre-switch symptom? Like contractions while giving birth?

"Ah!" Rukia let out a gasps of pain, clutching her head while doing so. She slowly pulled the door open, only to pass out as soon as she stepped out of the apartment.

Ichigo arrived at the scene. Orihime's body sprawled onto the pavement of the open-air doorstep. He quickly pulled her body and positioned her comfortably on his back. He silently cursed, wondering why he didn't just stay and make sure Rukia was all right before rushing off to Inoue.

He shunpo-ed down the street and around the corner to Urahara's shop.

"Perfect timing, come in Kurosaki-kun!" Urahara seemed to grin coyly behind his fan as he opened the sliding doors wider. "Just follow me into one of the spare rooms." Ichigo glared as he followed the shady ex-captain.

They entered the large empty room, where Rukia's body already lay. Ichigo placed Orihime's body onto the last free mattress and pulled the blanket up to Orihime's neck with a worried look.

"Don't worry too much, the procedure itself is painless while they're unconscious. This product was made so that there was a timer set right at midnight, I guess they ended a little early."

A painful silence followed this statement as Ichigo let the information sink in.

"Ah Kurosaki-san, you should go back home, your father's probably worried about you." Urahara said, fanning himself.

Ichigo stood up, and then walked towards the shady shopkeeper, eyes downcast. He grabbed Urahara's shirt and slammed him against the wall. The shopkeeper's gaze stayed neutral yet slightly disgusted at the teen that disgraced him.

"What the hell gives you the right to test your experiments on them?" Ichigo glared, his teeth gritting in anger. He slammed him against the wall once more. "You've done it once to Rukia already and now you're going to drag Inoue into this?" He yelled. Urahara stared at Ichigo's angry eyes for a moment, and then replied calmly.

"Think for a second. If they were _really _angry about the fact that they switched bodies, they would have expressed it to you, wouldn't they?"

Ichigo looked at the shady man in surprise, his grip loosening

"Do you ever wonder how much these girls go through just to be by your side?" Urahara finished and pushed Ichigo's hands away gently as he dusted himself and straightened out his clothing.

"I- they don't have to-"

"But that's the thing, they want to be by your side Ichigo," Yoruichi added, as she wiped the sweat away from Rukia's head.

"But I protect them, they-"

"They don't want to be protected, they want to protect you."

Ichigo looked at Yoruichi in shock, the words he heard from his own sword and hollow echoed back to him like waves of heavy rieatsu. Ichigo looked down at his two dear friends with a guilty face. There was a long silence as he sat on the floor, watching glumly as they rested and went about their body switch.

Around evening, the girls were resting. They both switched sleeping positions and had a look of peace on their faces. Urahara and Yoruichi had disappeared to watch over the shop, and Ichigo was asleep as well, still propped up against the wall. He was up the entire day watching over the girls, not to mention his late night hollow hunt.

Ichigo was snoring lightly, his spiky orange mop slightly longer than how he normally kept it. His eyebrow twitched slightly, a dream invading his mind. In this dream, there was a woman; she had a pure white kimono that matched her purely silver hair. Beside her was a younger woman, she had orange hair, it was long, and a pink kimono. Ichigo, unaware that he was dreaming, walked up to the two, and called out, but nothing sounded from his mouth. He watched as both women tilted their heads up, and a dark ominous force swallowed both. The orange haired teen looked around in worry, and turned to see Zangetsu staring at him glumly, his yellow and blue irises piercing his orange ones.

"Wake up Ichigo," Zangetsu simply said. Ichigo looked at him, puzzled.

"Who were those women?" He asked, he had a faint idea of who they might have represented but wasn't really sure.

"Wake up."

Ichigo tried calling out, demanding an answer to his question, only to awaken, flipping his head back so quickly that he slammed it against the wall behind him.

"Shit…" Ichigo muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, Kurosaki, you were having quite a dream there," Urahara said behind his fan.

"It was nothing," he looked away, then his eyes wandered to Rukia.

"The switch is nearly complete, just stay put, I'm going to the cavern, call me when they're awake."

Ichigo nodded, his gaze still locked on Rukia.

Did he see Sode no Shirayuki? Was that girl in the pink kimono supposed to be Orihime? What was that dark looming power that swallowed them whole? He scratched the back of his head. Well, it was just a dream so it probably had no meaning. Ichigo sat with his knees up, his elbows resting on them, and stared at the two girls. He was starting to get tired of waiting, so he slipped out of the room silently, and decided to go on a brief walk.

Once he arrived outside, the air was refreshing. His heart was steady and his mind was calm. He passed by a couple holding hand in hand, smiling and laughing at each other's jokes. He watched them pass by, seemingly happy for their relationship. Then it reminded him of Rukia. The woman who was probably hundreds of years old that had stayed by his side for nearly five years now.

He wondered why it didn't hit him earlier. Why he didn't ever notice that he had a thing for her. It was probably because of battle, he surmised, though he found that as no excuse. Especially because he went through hell and back just to gain his own powers, fight captains and nearly die just to save her.

That couldn't just be _friendship, _right?

Then there was Orihime's rescue. He didn't know what to classify his emotions then, he was just crushed that his friend left, especially since Soul Society called it a betrayal. Inoue wasn't the kind of person to betray someone; she never had a single evil bone in her body. He had to admit however, he was a little lost on his rescue. After dwelling on the situation for a few months after the winter war ended, he realized that he really wasn't clear on what he was doing in Hueco Mundo. He wanted to get Orihime out, but a part of him wanted to make sure that she didn't go out of betrayal herself. He wanted to make sure she was alive, and that she didn't go out of her own will. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't even aware of where she was being held captive.

The consequences of his rush came quickly. Chad died, then Rukia died. He turned around and wanted to rescue her, the shock weighed a thousand tons in his chest, making every breath painful. Ulquiorra only worsened the situation the instant he mentioned Orihime.

"The bastard." Ichigo muttered.

Ichigo sighed, and walked back to the shop. It wasn't his fault, right? He saved the both of them along with Karakura and everyone else. He was forgiven… wasn't he?

Having accomplished nothing, he sat back down in a corner of the room and sighed.

* * *

"Do you think he'll appreciate this, Isshin?" Urahara asked, looking at his old friend with a serious face. The father shrugged.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Isshin replied; as he placed a clip in someone's raven black hair. "Besides, this is for his good, not mine."

"I beg to differ," Urahara muttered.

"Well, we'll see what happens, won't we?" Isshin said.

* * *

Ichigo suddenly stood up; a strange yet familiar rieatsu was pulsing around him. He looked around, not sure what to make of it. Suddenly, before he could even blink, the floor of the room where he stood exploded into a thousand pieces. He quickly shunpo-ed away in the midst of the attack and landed clumsily onto the yard of the now destroyed store.

He whipped his head up, and his eyes widened in shock. Floating in the sky, held by unseen hands, were Rukia and Orihime's bodies. Their blankets wrapped around them with imprints of invisible fingers. He cursed and leapt towards the bodies. But he was smacked to the ground by an invisible force. He sat up, rubbing his back, annoyed by the situation.

"You are weak," a voice sounded. It was small and nearly silent.

"What-"

"You cannot rescue them," the voice said. Ichigo followed the sound and saw a small girl. She was wearing what looked like an arrancar uniform, though no hole was visible anywhere on her petite frame.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, his voice fierce.

"I am no one you know, I'm only here to take something I needed." Strangely, there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Ichigo eyed the small arrancar. She had white puffy pants matched with a vest, lined with the familiar dark trim of regular uniform. Her hair was sleek, long and black, and her eyes looked droopy. She had a stray bang clipped to the side by a blue bunny pin.

"You'll have to get past me," Ichigo replied.

He nearly killed _the _Aizen Sosuke and this chick came out of nowhere to steal something from his town.

"Do not underestimate me," she said weakly, with her voice similar to that of a little girl's.

Ichigo ignored this reply, and shunpo-ed away to pick up the two girls floating in the air. As soon as he appeared in front of the two, however, he was blown back yet again by a strike to the head. Blood trickled from a small cut on his forehead, as he sat up, cursing at his carelessness.

"I apologize for my late entrance!" A spunky voice called out, Ichigo looked up with all seriousness, but his face quickly changed.

"What the- are they running out of tall arrancars down in Hueco Mundo?"

Before him stood a young arrancar with similar uniform to the little girl he faced earlier. He wore a red faux-hawk and a pair of sunglasses on the bridge his nose.

"Shut up!" He stuck out his hand and with a cynical smile, "You're going to regret that." Ichigo watched as he closed his open hand. The invisible hand squeezed Orihime slowly, the look of suffocation apparent on her sleeping face.

"Stop!" Ichigo yelled. He shunpo-ed towards the boy who just disappeared.

"Why don't you stop running around, and fight us seriously?" The small girl piped up behind Ichigo. He whipped around, glaring at her; he pulled out his zanpakuto as he raced towards her.

Ichigo reminded himself to stay calm, he wasn't used to battling children, let alone little girls. He swung his zanpakuto down with only a fraction of his usual strength, but his enemy did not budge. The little girl simply blocked the attack with a flick of her bare forearm. Her expression remained neutral, and she attempted to stab her free hand through Ichigo's stomach, Ichigo narrowly dodged the jab and leapt backwards, putting a fair distance between the two of them.

He glanced up at the two captives and decided that children or not, he needed to rescue them. With an angry cry, he rushed towards the girl. She flew back to avoid his strike, and landed somewhere in the middle of the city. At this moment the boy who had been watching the whole time, lunged at Ichigo with his fist in the air. The orange haired teen blocked the attack with the flat of his blade, pushing his assailant away and the boy smoothly landed on the pavement below.

"Give them back," Ichigo growled, suppressing a wave of frustration. At first he underestimated the power of the children. Though it turned out, that their defensive abilities and speed were far greater than their offensive strength.

Suddenly Ichigo sensed a rapidly moving rieatsu close behind him; he whipped around, and was punched in the face. He skidded back a few metres, and looked up at the little girl that came out of nowhere.

"You let your guard down," she said. Ichigo glared at her and he shunpo-ed away, gaining some distance between them.

Ichigo sent a single Getsuga Tenshou flying at her, which she dodged easily. He cursed as the attack left a large scar on the concrete below. Realising it wouldn't be wise to blow half the neighbourhood to smithereens, he charged at her again, lashing out diagonally, but his zanpakuto simply passed through thin air. She appeared behind him, and he took a quick step back to avoid her kick. Sensing movement from his right, he turned around just in time to take a blow to the face from the boy. But he somehow managed to grab onto his foot as another blow came towards him, and flung him at the girl. They flew back into the neighbourhood a few hundred meters away.

Ichigo sensed for their rieatsus, and made sure of their distance. Then he made his way to Rukia's limp body, he tried to grab her away, thinking that the hold was gone, only to be pushed back by what seemed to be a barrier. He turned at the sound of panting and saw the little girl that he thought he knocked out.

"Where's your partner?" Ichigo asked, though the fight gave him a lot of surprises, he really hadn't broken out a sweat. A strange laugh erupted from his left.

"Right here," the boy grinned. The boy raced towards Ichigo, the shinigami met his attack by smashing the pommel of his katana into the boy's face as the kid tried to pierce his side. The child stumbled back, but quickly regained his composure and forced out a punch. Ichigo easily grabbed his fist and kicked him away.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"We want you to get out of the way," the little girl muttered as she raced towards him again. She leapt over him, bringing her foot down; he matched the incoming blow and grabbed her waist, pulled her down then rammed his elbow on her stomach, sending her crashing into the ruins of the shop.

"Listen, Kurosaki-san," Ichigo followed the young voice. The red haired boy stood up shakily, clutching his stomach. "You're clearly not using your full power on us, why?" The young arrancar, despite his disposition, let out a smirk.

"You're only children." Ichigo reasoned.

"But you seem to be having difficulty with my partner, and she's only one person," he stifled a laugh.

"She's stronger than you by far," Ichigo replied, not really offended by his comment.

The red haired boy glared at Ichigo, "she's not stronger than me, I'm her leader."

"Oh really?" Ichigo asked, realizing that he hit a nerve, "but she's the one landing some impressive attacks for a girl her size." The boy straightened out and pointed right at the girl, his eyebrows furrowed.

"She's not better than me, I taught her all those attacks," he said, attempting to hide the rising frustration in his voice. The little girl coughed severely from below.

"Then why don't you fight me again?"

"I don't want to waste any more of my energy on weaklings like you," he answered smugly. Ichigo's eyebrow rose.

"Then I'll attack you first," Ichigo muttered.

"You wouldn't want to do that," the little girl cut in. Ichigo whipped around, surprised to see the girl still walking. There was blood on the side of her mouth, and cuts on parts of her body; she had been badly beaten. "You might seriously hurt someone." She pointed up at Rukia's floating body.

His eyes widened as he watched the blanket around her squeezing her body tightly.

"Stop!" Ichigo muttered.

"She's not the only one," the boy called out behind Ichigo.

"Kurosaki…kun…" Orihime said breathlessly. The teen turned to see Orihime's eyes open, she had woken up.

"Inoue!" He exclaimed. He turned to the boy and glared at him fiercely. "Let them go."

"Ichigo!" A voice called out. He whipped around and saw that Rukia had woken as well. "Rescue Inoue!" Rukia said. Ichigo looked at her in shock.

She didn't even ask what was happening, let alone for help, but told him to rescue Inoue?

"Shut up! I'm rescuing you both!"

"If you touch any one of them, we'll kill the other, shinigami-san," the little girl said, and flew to Rukia's side.

Ichigo stood there, baffled.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She whispered, tears clouding her eyes. "I can't… breathe…"

Ichigo looked at Orihime in pain, and turned to Rukia who was struggling to get her arms free.

"Don't just stand there Ichigo! Rescue Inoue!" She called out.

"I don't want to choose," Ichigo muttered.

"Ichigo! Go rescue Inoue!" Rukia called out.

"I don't want to-"

"Kurosaki-kun… go get Kuchiki-san, she doesn't have… anything to… defend herself with…" Orihime said in between gasps.

"Damn it Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed, struggling for air.

"I don't want to choose!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oh? What's this?" The boy asked.

"I can't choose." Ichigo muttered. "Take me instead."

"No, there's no telling what you'll do." The little girl said.

Ichigo stood there, looking down at his feet. He listened to his friends' gasps of air.

"What do you want?" Ichigo muttered. "Name it and I'll hand it to you."

"We want the Shun Shun Rikka," the boy answered. Ichigo looked up at him in surprise.

"What…?"

"Find us the strongest form and we will return your friends," the little girl said.

Ichigo looked at Inoue in shock, she stared back in fear.

"I…"

"Ichigo just rescue her!" Rukia yelled. "Don't be an idiot!"

"Shut up! Just _shut up_!" Ichigo yelled back," Don't you think that I want to rescue you just as badly… maybe even more than I want to rescue Inoue?"

There was an awkward silence.

* * *

**A/N:** BUAAHAHHAHAHAHA you asshole Ichigo you! Just kidding. Sorry for the REALLY long wait guys, but I've been very very busy lately. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Thanks very much to **Armageddon Coconut** for the fighting scenes, check out his profile! What else… oh yeah, the other half is coming in a bit, so chill.

Suggestions/comments/concerns? Please leave a review! Thanks for your continuing support! :D


	6. Resolve

**The Truth**

**Chapter 6: Resolve**

_Note: Everyone is in their own bodies now!_

* * *

"Shut up! Just _shut up_!" Ichigo yelled back," Don't you think that I want to rescue you just as badly… maybe even more than I want to rescue Inoue?"

There was an awkward silence.

Rukia looked at Ichigo in surprise, though he didn't bother to look up, in his mind he could already see Orihime's tears flowing down her face.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She whispered, "I'm sorry."

Lots of things ran through Orihime's mind, though it was her heart that ached more than anything. What he said was a flat out rejection; she knew he already made up his mind, even though he wasn't going to fully admit it. Tears trickled down her cheeks, something that she knew happened way too often. Was it because she wasn't strong enough?

"I'll be strong… I _can _be strong," she muttered to herself.

Suddenly a bright light flashed across the chest of the boy who held her captive. Blood gushed from his chest, resulting from a deep slash by Tsubaki. The boy fell to the ground like a rock. The hold on Inoue disappeared and she fell down.

Ichigo was ready to catch her when he heard Rukia's agonizing scream. He whipped around.

"She must die now, for you have chosen." The little girl said.

Without hesitation, Ichigo flash stepped to the little girl and ran his sword cleanly through her belly. Rukia nearly passed out from lack of air, when the invisible hand disappeared around her as well. Ichigo pulled his sword out of the now deceased arrancar, and caught Rukia easily with his free arm. The little arrancar fell backwards, her eyes wide open, and landed heavily on the pavement, crushing the ground underneath her.

"Are you guys okay?" Orihime called out, her Shun Shun Rikka dissolved as it gently let her down onto the ground.

Ichigo looked at her in sadness, as he descended from the sky. Her eyes were still fresh from tears. He looked away quickly, and placed Rukia gently onto the yard of the missing store.

"I'm-"

"Kurosaki-san," Urahara's voice sounded, as he approached the teen. "That was quite a battle, are you alright?"

"We're fine. Explain to us what happened." Ichigo said. As dense as Ichigo usually was, he realized that most of the things that attempted to hurt any of his friends all came from him and his experiments.

"I can explain that." Isshin interrupted. The teens looked at the shinigami father in mild surprise. Urahara just stared indifferently at his old friend. "I helped you realize, Ichigo."

"What?" Ichigo asked, his tone sharp.

"The two 'arrancars' you nearly killed were Ururu and Jinta, Urahara's underlings," Isshin answered.

"You mean I injured _those _kids?" Ichigo yelled. Orihime turned pale at the thought of her outburst.

"They'll be fine, Urahara's watched over them for so long after all."

"But… I stabbed her cleanly in the stomach with my sword," Ichigo muttered, covering his face with his hand.

"They'll be fine Kurosaki. We have Inoue-san's extraordinary powers to heal them," Urahara added.

"Ah but – I – the little boy –" Orihime stuttered. Urahara simply shook his head.

"You did what any person would do, well a person with powers such as yours, I'm proud of you Inoue-san." Urahara said.

As Orihime healed the two knocked out children, Urahara took the opportunity to ask her about the brain-switching pills.

"It didn't hurt while I was sleeping. The pills themselves actually worked very well! You're very good at what you do, Urahara-san!"

"Ah well… I won't say no to that," the shady shopkeeper answered.

"Hmm," Rukia started, upon hearing Urahara's question, "I know the product you gave Inoue and I was experimental but, the timing was very off."

"Yes I am aware, I'll have that fixed in the end, maybe you'd like to be my subject again," he grinned behind the notebook in his hands.

"Don't even think about it," Ichigo interjected upon hearing the conversation while clearing some pieces of wood nearby. "I've had it with your experiments Urahara, you could have at least gotten permission from them."

"Well, they should know better than to trust Urahara," Isshin added with a snicker.

"Shut up dad! You nearly got them killed!" Ichigo exploded.

"You know, those invisible hands were only rieatsu tricks, I learned to control them because of Urahara's special pills," he grinned, the statement resulted in a piece of jagged wood crashing into his face. "OW! Oh Misaki! How our son hurts me!"

"Shut up! You got two kids killed and all for some sort of _choice_?" Ichigo retorted.

"It could have been avoided," Isshin said seriously.

There was an awkward silence; all one could hear was the hammering of wood by Tessai as he worked on the shop. Ichigo looked away in pain.

"Kurosaki-kun-"

"I'll be back," Ichigo muttered before he shunpo-ed away.

"Should we go after him?" Orihime asked, looking around worriedly at the others who were looking on.

"No," they said nearly simultaneously.

"Leave him," Rukia finished, "he needs some time to think."

* * *

After saying a lengthy goodbye and accepting an apology from Urahara, Orihime walked home alone that evening. The sun was setting slowly and the air was still, as if letting Orihime's thoughts settle in her mind.

"I… did what I had to, right?"

She sighed. Her mind was racing a hundred miles per hour when she pulled out her attack fairy. She wanted to help Ichigo. That slight hint of desperation in Ichigo's voice rang like a foghorn in her ears. After years of wanting to aid him, she was finally able to show it on the battlefield. However, she was not relieved.

"Kurosaki-kun loves Kuchiki-san and…" she whispered, "I should not get in the way."

Her voice cracked, the pain in her chest interlaced her usually cheerful tone.

"I helped him rescue her… I should be proud…" She froze in the middle of the sidewalk.

Tears fell. They fell stronger and quicker than ever before. Her heart pined for relief, for the aching to be numbed. She didn't want to stop loving him, looking back at her life; she saw what made her become who she was at that very moment. Him. It was all him. Nearly her entire life revolved around him. He was like a drug that she couldn't quit.

"I guess that's why they say 'falling in love'," she laughed weakly as she wiped her tears away. "You've got to be brave Hime," she said matter-of-factly, the image of Ichigo's back appeared in her mind. "You have to be strong and amazing," she continued, this time Rukia's confident smile shining in her eyes, she took a deep breath in and began to walk at a steady pace once more. "But you can't be her," she saw Ichigo holding Rukia with a worried expression he never usually wore for her. At this her eyes watered, her breath shortened, her pace quickened, and her heart ached. "You can't be her!" She exploded, crashing onto the floor on her knees, her frustration echoed through the empty streets.

"Inoue?" A voice sounded.

Her eyes widened, she had gone too far. She quickly wiped her mess of tears away and dusted herself as she stood up.

"Ah, yes?" Her cheery tone sounded. She looked up and saw Uryu, his face full of worry and shock.

"Was that you? I heard you down the street and –"

"What do you mean Ishida-kun?" She laughed awkwardly. "That couldn't have been me, I was humming while walking down the road a few minutes ago."

There was a brief silence as they stared into each other's eyes.

"It sounded exactly like you, though. I heard you from a few blocks down and followed your rieatsu… as creepy as that sounds." He looked away, and then looked back into her grey irises. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, "I'm going to go now, I'll see you at school Ishida-kun!" She flashed a smile, and walked off as casually as she could.

Uryu watched her walk away, not knowing what to do.

"Thank you, though, Ishida-kun," Orihime added while walking away.

She felt warmth in her hand and turned to see Uryuu turned away and attempting to hide the blush in his cheeks.

"I know there's something wrong," he muttered, letting go of her hand, "you don't have to tell me, just know that I'm here… supporting you." He turned to her with a smile, but was met by teary eyes. There was a small pause as Uryu wiped her falling tears away.

"I know," she smiled weakly. "Thank you Ishida-kun."

xxxx

Ichigo was sulking. He sat with his knees up on the roof of an unknown building, which he chose when he felt he was far enough away from the commotion.

The weather around him was gorgeous, the darkness of night beginning to flood the pink sky. It was beautiful, and yet he was sulking. He rescued his friends, though he wasn't able to rescue Inoue at the same time. There were many things running through his mind. Firstly, he felt bad about not being able to save Inoue; he found it too hard to choose. Not only that, he totally forgot that Inoue had the power to save herself, why didn't he trust her? He was too aware of her weakness, the lack of battle in her blood; he was too self-absorbed in his so-called 'rescue'.

"I'm such an ass sometimes," Ichigo muttered, sighing while running a hand through his mop of hair. "And I blatantly yelled out that I wanted to rescue Rukia first… I don't know what came over me."

It wasn't like he didn't want to rescue Inoue either; they were pretty much on par. The fact that Rukia was coercing him into rescuing Inoue first… it pissed him off.

"She doesn't fucking understand that I…" he paused. "I…" he looked at his feet as if he had grown a sixth toe.

His heart seemingly stopped, a contraction occurred in his chest, and a warm tingly feeling spread all over his body. Was that what his old man endangered his two friends for? Was it really for something so utterly stupid?

"I wanted to rescue Rukia first to shut her up! She's so annoying, can't she worry about herself once in a while?" Ichigo grit his teeth, clutching his head. "Annoying." He whispered, letting his hands drop.

* * *

Rukia came out of a steamy bath dressed in a pure white towel wrapped around her thin frame. After rubbing the condensation away from the mirror, she brushed her teeth for bed, she wondered where Ichigo ran off to, and then wondered if it was any of her business at all. She spat out the foam of her mouth, and gargled some mouthwash.

"All clean," she smiled at herself in the mirror, and then left the bathroom.

She walked into the sisters' room first to grab her nightgown, but couldn't find it in the closet Isshin made her. Sighing in frustration, she walked down the hall and opened the door into Ichigo's room. She rummaged around his closet and pulled it out triumphantly. She unravelled her towel half way and slipped an arm through one of the sleeve holes.

"And I thought you were good at sensing rieatsu," he said with a scoff.

Rukia wrapped her towel around her again in a flash, but ripped the back of her nightgown in her rush.

"You fool! How long were you there?" She exclaimed, the tone of her voice sharp yet panicky. Ichigo laughed.

"Don't worry about it, I don't wanna see you naked anyway," Ichigo snickered some more. "Hurry up and put your clothes on, I'll have my eyes closed."

Rukia turned around with a glare, and saw that he was already in his body, his eyes covered by the palm of his hands. She slipped on the nightgown, unaware of the rip.

"Okay you can open your eyes now, idiot," Rukia stuck her tongue out at him. Ichigo glared, and stuck his tongue out as well.

She then turned to the open closet to make sure she hadn't forgotten any other clothes in it.

"Rukia," Ichigo muttered.

"Be patient, I'll be out in a moment," she replied, gathering the shirt and shorts she'd been looking for the past week.

Ichigo stood up silently, taking soft steps towards the small girl. The back of her gown was ripped, and the seams opened in a clean V, showing off her porcelain back. He was tempted to touch her, and stroke her skin. He stood behind her closely, hoping she wouldn't notice, and lined his finger down her bare back.

Rukia jumped and couldn't hide the shiver that followed his touch.

"What are you doing?" She asked harshly, she didn't want to turn and show him her flushed face.

Ichigo didn't answer and gathered three of his fingers together down her back once more. Rukia didn't know what to say, or what to do, her natural reactions stopped at his touch, she relished them, as strange as that sounded. Ichigo leaned down, and kissed the back of her neck.

"Ichigo-" Rukia started, but she was cut off by his swift hands slipping under the straps of her dress, and the soft tug of material down her shoulders. Goosebumps ravaged her body; the tension in the air grew thicker. "Stop it," Rukia tried to look at him, but Ichigo pulled her back into his arms, wrapping himself around her frail frame.

"Why would you want me to rescue Inoue first?" Ichigo whispered, slightly bent over, into her ear.

"She's fragile, Ichigo," Rukia explained.

"You know her better than I do, you knew that she had her Shun Shun Rikka to save her," Ichigo answered, his voice now raised to a mutter.

"I knew that," Rukia answered. Ichigo stayed silent.

"Then why would you ask me to save her first?" he exclaimed, slamming Rukia onto the door of his closet.

"Because Ichigo," she replied calmly, now thoroughly used to his sudden outbursts. "Inoue is weak, she doesn't know when to save herself."

There was a pause for a few seconds.

"Do you realize how badly you just judged her?" Ichigo asked, looking at Rukia with a slight pain in his eyes.

"I'm sure you've gone over that reason many times," Rukia said simply.

Ichigo sighed and backed away, he sat on his bed and rubbed his face. "Should I apologize?"

Rukia sat down beside him and put a hand on his arm, "You shouldn't have to, for you helped her out more than you think."

He looked at Rukia with a relieved look, though some pain was still visible in his eyes.

"Well, good night," Rukia smiled, and she stood up. Ichigo watched her disappear with a soft close of his door.

xxxx

Inoue woke up a little earlier than usual. She felt like having some soup before starting her homework that weekend. She glanced out the window; the sky was still draped in a midnight blue though the feel of dawn swept over the sleepy town. Sighing, she downed her soup with no trouble, thoroughly enjoying the hotdogs and seaweed taste mingling in the liquid. She realized that if she were Rukia at the moment, she would be sound asleep in Ichigo's house… so close to him… so needed. As she placed her bowl down, she let out another heavy sigh.

She spent a lot of time crying in her room the night before. Her eyes were puffy and sore. She knew that Ichigo wasn't interested in her – she was quite comfortable being infatuated with him though she constantly faced his back. But once she heard his confession, it was like her entire world shattered. What weak foundation and imaginary walls she set up had fallen in the span of a few seconds.

There was a knock at the door. Orihime was stopped mid-tears to see who it was. She looked through her peephole and was shocked to see Ichigo waiting outside patiently. She gasped inaudibly, wondering whether or not she should open the door.

"Inoue, I know you're in there – just hear me out," Ichigo said through the door. Inoue had no choice but to let him in.

"What is it Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue wore her well-practiced smile. Ichigo looked at her with guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry about not being able to rescue you, I-"

"No, really, it's okay," she waved her arms back and forth with an awkward laugh.

"But you could have gotten hurt… what am I saying – you did get hurt," Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Inoue, even though I promised to protect you."

"You don't need to protect me anymore Kurosaki-kun," she smiled. Ichigo looked at her in question. "I… the fact that I was able to rescue myself was very exciting! Especially since I was able to help you… so really what you should be saying is thank you!" She laughed. Ichigo stared at her, bewildered for a few seconds, and then heaved a sigh of relief.

"You're right," a slight smile replaced his scowl. "Thank you Inoue."

"Yes- ah… don't mention it," she answered, her voice cracking. Ichigo waved goodbye as he turned to leave. "Kurosaki-kun!" At this Ichigo turned, his face gentle and patient. "Thank you! That is… for protecting me all this time… thank you," she smiled genuinely. Ichigo nodded and continued home.

As Inoue closed the door, a tear slid past her smile. She was glad. The fact that Ichigo came all the way to her house just to apologize reminded her that she wasn't forgotten. That even with Rukia in his life, she had her place in his, even though if it was only as a friend. What little strength she had, she found a new source… to be happy for herself. Maybe along the way she'll find someone who can take care of her, and whom she'll love more than she did Ichigo. But those words always scared her.

"I need to move on…" she whispered shakily while hugging herself, "thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

* * *

Ichigo walked into the house and saw Rukia sitting in the den, watching a fashion show and scribbling down notes in her sketchbook. He smiled and walked over silently; he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, only to receive a blow to the face.

"You!" Ichigo exclaimed and Rukia whipped around with a glare.

"Don't surprise me!" She spat, her face flushed. Ichigo glared back, as he rubbed his sore cheek. "Did you get to apologize?" Rukia asked, the edge in her voice completely gone.

"Yeah… sort of," Ichigo replied, and dropped his hand. "My friends don't need me anymore, do they, Rukia?" Said girl looked up at him in surprise, and stood on the couch to be level with him.

She slapped him across the face, and Ichigo cursed at her, with a soft smile she said: "Of course they do, however there are certain times they don't. They're fighting their own battles, and when they need you, they'll call, and you'll be there in a heartbeat."

Ichigo smiled, his eyes relaxed, "How is it? Being my height?" Rukia narrowed her eyes and grabbed Ichigo in chokehold. Ichigo cursed, and tried to escape her strangle.

"Why, it feels amazing Kurosaki-kun! Like I'm on top of the world!" Rukia laughed.

"Let go of me!" Ichigo managed to say. Rukia laughed and unwrapped her unexpectedly strong arm from his neck. The orange haired teen stroked his throat, trying to ease the pain.

Rukia sat down on the couch, and turned back to her TV show. Ichigo sat down beside her and watched as she doodled away.

"Were you ever jealous when I was with Inoue?" Ichigo asked. Rukia stopped her doodling and looked up at him.

"To be honest, I was. But I realized how much you ignored her, how insignificant she must feel to be around us." Rukia sighed. Ichigo looked at his feet.

"But she seemed happy, after I thanked her. I guess I underestimate my friends."

"Finally," Rukia laughed. Ichigo looked over with a scowl, but smiled immediately after. "Thanks."

"I'm telling you, those are of your efforts not mine, so stop thanking me," Rukia said.

"No… not that," Ichigo looked away for a moment, "I mean thank you, for always being there."

He leaned in slowly, looking into her violet eyes. Rukia didn't know what to do, but followed his motion, leaning in to meet lips as well. They met in the middle, and their entire beings shook from the long anticipation of an equally shared emotion. Ichigo hesitated, but slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Rukia pulled away for a moment, and shifted her position so that her legs extended from either side of his abdomen. He gave out a soft smile, and she returned it, as he leaned in for another kiss. Their hearts pounded madly, but their minds were calm and bright. Rukia could feel Ichigo's smile as he kissed her, and he broke away, then kissed her on the cheek.

"My old man was right," Ichigo muttered as he buried his face in her shoulder. "He did help me realize."

"You're not the only one, Ichigo," Rukia whispered into his ear, smiling as she hugged him.

* * *

**A/N:** FINALLY. HOLY CRAP. LOL. Sorry for the long wait guys. :) Hope you enjoyed the final chapter – if there are any questions or plot holes that I may have left wide open, feel free to leave a review and I'll reply! (So it doesn't help if you're an anon and you ask me a question that I can't get back to you.) **Note**: as pointed out to me by a recent review, I did say five years in the previous chapter – so just know they're in university/college now.

I hope you all see my view on this relationship with Inoue now in the picture. I really think the girl can find someone better for her. Ichigo's too rough, and she can't even keep her own emotions in check.

I may be coming out with a one shot in the near future, following Rukia's disappearance in chapter 423, I can't wait to see what Kubo does concerning their relationship and Ichigo's development without her. The new arc starting though seems to be really really really annoying. xD

Thanks for your support guys! I enjoyed writing for you! Until next time. :)


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